Lecture

Tree Sap Circulation: Anatomy and Growth

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MSE-466: Wood structures, properties and uses

The presentation of tree growth and formation of wood anatomical structures, linked to the description of specific physical and mechanical properties, makes it possible to understand the different forms of utilisation of this material, including aspects of ...

Description

This lecture covers the role of microscopical cell structure in water conduction, sap transport, and mechanical function in trees. It explains the circulation of water and tree sap, the 3D sections of wood, earlywood vs. latewood, annual growth rings, and functional stem anatomy. The stages of xylem differentiation, wood growth, and anatomy are discussed, along with the macroscopic and microscopic views of fiber tissue and parenchyma tissue in wood. The lecture also explores the growth ring width and strength of different wood types, vessel elements, and the cellular structure of hardwoods, including large earlywood vessels of oak with tyloses.

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Related concepts (32)

Tissue (biology)

In biology, tissue is a historically derived biological organizational level between cells and a complete organ. A tissue is therefore often thought of as an assembly of similar cells and their extracellular matrix from the same origin that together carry out a specific function. Organs are then formed by the functional grouping together of multiple tissues. The English word "tissue" derives from the French word "tissu", the past participle of the verb tisser, "to weave".

Ground tissue

The ground tissue of plants includes all tissues that are neither dermal nor vascular. It can be divided into three types based on the nature of the cell walls. Parenchyma cells have thin primary walls and usually remain alive after they become mature. Parenchyma forms the "filler" tissue in the soft parts of plants, and is usually present in cortex, pericycle, pith, and medullary rays in primary stem and root. Collenchyma cells have thin primary walls with some areas of secondary thickening.

Connective tissue

Connective tissue is one of the four primary types of animal tissue, along with epithelial tissue, muscle tissue, and nervous tissue. It develops from the mesenchyme, derived from the mesoderm, the middle embryonic germ layer. Connective tissue is found in between other tissues everywhere in the body, including the nervous system. The three meninges, membranes that envelop the brain and spinal cord, are composed of connective tissue. Most types of connective tissue consists of three main components: elastic and collagen fibers, ground substance, and cells.

Vascular cambium

The vascular cambium is the main growth tissue in the stems and roots of many plants, specifically in dicots such as buttercups and oak trees, gymnosperms such as pine trees, as well as in certain other vascular plants. It produces secondary xylem inwards, towards the pith, and secondary phloem outwards, towards the bark. In herbaceous plants, it occurs in the vascular bundles which are often arranged like beads on a necklace forming an interrupted ring inside the stem.

Wood

Wood is a structural tissue found in the stems and roots of trees and other woody plants. It is an organic material - a natural composite of cellulose fibers that are strong in tension and embedded in a matrix of lignin that resists compression. Wood is sometimes defined as only the secondary xylem in the stems of trees, or it is defined more broadly to include the same type of tissue elsewhere such as in the roots of trees or shrubs. In a living tree it performs a support function, enabling woody plants to grow large or to stand up by themselves.

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